[Guest post by DRJ]

Gateway Pundit has the story on Hillary’s Jesus moment:

“Hillary got a “surprise” visit from her Sunday School teacher from the Chicago area while she spoke in Donnellson, Iowa.

It looks like Hillary’s Jesus moment was likely another staged event for the Democratic front runner.”

Read the details at Gateway Pundit and then note this BarackObama.com community blog post and update:

“As you know, Hillary met in Donnellson Iowa at a firehouse (you can’t beat that, images of 9/11 and all) and a person, Amy Fellows of “Croton Iowa” (no such city) asked her if she was Christian. What followed was a saccarine exchange of religious greetings and an oportunity for Hillary to expound on her Methodist upbringing.

Following on the heels of the e-mail scandal where Hillary campaign workers were caught spreading mis-information that Obama was a Muslin, this was pretty neat.

After this homily on Methodism, “somone in the crowd” (how convenient, an anonymous person) shouted our “Her Sunday School Teacher is Here!”

What heppened next is up for debate. The AP wire story and other outlets carried this as a long-lost runion between Clinton and Ms. Bentzinger, her Sunday school teacher. No mention was made that the two had met in April of this year at a similar event in nearby Fort Madison. The spin on the story was that this hearwarming event was a reunion for Ms. Clinton and Ms. Bentzinger.

I first heard of this event on the hillaryclinton.com blogsite when a poster put up a message to the effect that this was such a wonderful heartwarming event – again the implication that this was a long-lost reunion. When I ponted out they had seen each other a few months earlier, the poster on the blogsite deleted the original message.

Today, I receive threatening messages from (what I believe to be) Clinton people, claiming I am attacking the character of Ms. Bentzinger. It is clear that this is how the Clinton campaign is going to play this out. Anyone who questions the authenticity of this scripted campaign event is challenging the character of Ms. Benzinger, who is, buy all accounts, a distinguished Methodist scholar and leader. How dare you! for shame! Attacking a little old lady like that!

This is a neat way of deflecting the criticism of the Hillary campaign and turning it back upon the accuser.

But let me be clear on the record, and you can read my blog to verify this: I have never said otherwise that Ms. Bentzinger is anything other than a distinguished Methodist leader, scholar, and of course , Sunday School Teacher. She has a scholarship named after her.

In this regard, the Clinton campaign seems to be playing DOWN her credentials, making it appear as though she was some unknown little old lady who came out to see her former pupil. I find ir hard to believe that Hillary would not recognize Ms. Bentzinger, given her fame and also given that they met a few months prior. I also find it hard to believe that the entire event played out by accident – with this Jesus question (coming on the heels of the Obama/Muslin attacks) being sequed nicely into a tearful hug and reunion with Ms. Bentzinger.

The entire POINT of the “Hilly Copter” (Clinton’s words, not mine) tour was to “SHOWCASE her softer side” (again her words not mine). So we have had events already where Hillary appears with people from her childhood, who then say nice things about her while Hillary gets “glassy eyed”.

If you plan a tour to have friends and acquainces from your childhood give testimonials, how could you MISS the Sunday School teacher you met in April of this year, who is living in Iowa? I think the Clinton campaign fully knew this and made sure she attended. And I think it was a Clinton operative that shouted out “Her Sunday School Teacher is Here!” I also think Ms. Bentzinger is a genuine Hillary supporter who was a pawn in this pagent.”

Here is the same author’s BarackObama.com community blog UPDATE:

“Note also the original Ap wire story notes that Ms. Brentzinger was “with a friend of Clinton’s” which is interesting in several ways:

1. Who was the “woman” who shouted out of the crowd “Sunday School Teacher” – was this the “friend of Clinton’s”?

2. If Brentzinger was with this “friend of Clinton’s” why did not Hillary recognize her earlier?

3. Did this “friend of Clinton’s” drive Ms. Bretzinger to the event, and if so, was this part of a plan for this “surprise” reunion?

4. Does this “friend” have a name and why was this not reported?

Other questions:

Why did I get this e-mail from Gannett News Service today?

Robert,

After the event ended, Ms. Bentzinger showed me and other reporters who cared to talk to her the photo of her with Sen. Clinton in April. That was never a secret.

Brian Tumulty
Gannett News Service
1100 New York Ave. NW
Washington, D.C. 20005
Tel. 202-906-8133

If this is true, why does the AP story and every other outlet that ran the AP story run it as a long-lost reunion between Hillary and her Sunday School teacher?

The answers to all this are simple. It was a scripted event. However, they carefully worded the press release so that they can say “well, we didn’t SAY it was a long-lost reunion” – it was only IMPLIED.

Also, the Clinton operatives e-mailing me all predicate their attacks with “Well, I’m not saying it wasn’t possible the meeting was not pre-arranged, BUT…” So they are covering themselves there.

I suspect that they will say that unnnamed campaign workers staged it and that Hillary wasn’t in the loop. This has been the pattern so far. Plausible Deniability.”

It sounds to me like Hillary is putting on a full-court Jesus press.

— DRJ